Said smith assig-noe to said shannon



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. W. SMITH & J. s. SHANNON.

' Temporary Binder. Na. 232,374. Patented Sept. 21,1880.

' MPEI'ERS PHOTO-LATHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. (1C.

UNITED STATES EEEDEEIOK W.

PATENT QEETQE.

SMITH AND JAMES S. SHANNON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS; SAID SMITH ASSIGNOR TO SAID SHANNON.

TEMPORARY BINDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 232,374, dated September 21, 1880.

Application filed October 28, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FEEnEEIcK W. SMITH intended for binding sheet-music, magazines,

and similar matters, and has for its object to provide a binder in which the leaves or bound parts will lie flat, or nearly so, when the volume is opened upon the piano or table, and from which an intermediate part may be readily removed, or into which one may be inserted, without disarranging the parts already bound. The accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, copiously illustrate our invention, which consists in the several devices and combinations therein shown and hereinafter described and claimed.

Figures 1, 2, and at exhibit the open binder with contents thrown to one side, showing the position of the binding device. Fig. 3 shows the binder closed. Fig. 5 is a view of the in side of the binder with transfer-wires removed. Figs. 6, 7 ,and 8 show the binding devices detached from each other and from the cover.

Fig. 8% is an alternative construction of the binder proper. Figs. 9 and 10 more plainly show the binding devices in the cover, and illustrate a described mode of locking and unlocking the fastening. Fig. 11 is a central transverse section of the binder and contents. Figs. 12, 13,14, and 15 show the means by which the several sheets of a single piece of music are bound together, and by. which the part formed of the united sheets or a pamphlet or magazine is removably held by the binding devices.

The cover of the binder consists of the lids L and L and the rigid swell-back B. The binding devices, separately considered, consist of the back-piece B, Fig.8, the connected parallel tubes T T, Fig. 7, and the connected transfer-wires It R,'Figs. 6, having the metal plate Gr hinged thereto.

Theback B is preferably secured to the coverback 13 in the process of making the latter, and is inclosed beneath the inner covering thereof. Said back B is provided with the vertical portions a and (7, (shown in Fig. 8,) to one of which, a, are hinged the tubes T T at I) I) by means of their connecting portion E. The opposite vertical portion d is provided with the catch 0. The transfer-wires It It are parallel projecting ends of the wire It, adapted to enter and reach the bottom of the tubes T T. The part It of the wire bent to form the transfer-wiresRRis centrally bent to also form the loop I, which properly projects at right angles to the plane of the wires R B. This loop is intended to engage the catch 0 upon the vertical portion d of the baclopiece B. The wire R has hinged thereto a thin metal plate, G, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. The wires It It being inserted in the tubes TT, the binding device is closed by swinging the movable parts upon the hinge 1) until the loop 1? engages the catch 0. In the act of swinging the parts mentioned the plate G serves as a convenient handle When turned up into the plane of the loop, as seen in Fig. 10, both the wire It and the plate G readily spring inward to engage the catch 0 by the loop, and also to permit the loop to be disengaged in opening the binder under proper. inward pressure by the linger upon the plate Gr; but when turned down out of the plane of the loop, or against the open lid L, as shown in Fig. 9, said plate is in position to prevent the lateral springing of the wire It, and thus practically locks the binder closed.

Except for the purpose of facilitating the removal or insertion of intermediate sheets or articles to be filed, as will be explained farther on, the transfer-wires B. B, with the looped wire It and plate G, might be dispensed with, and material advantages be still gained by the use of the hinged tubes T T alone. In that case they need not be tubular, and may be adapted to catch at their ends under suitable projections formed on the flange cl of the backpiece B. Thus the upper ledge of cl might be turned over inwardly, as. shown in Fig. 85-, to catch the ends of the binding-wires T, the

back-piece or flange d being adapted to spring I to allow the catch to engage or disengage with the Wires; or the ends of the tubes T may spring toward or from each other to engage or disengage catches formed on the flange d, the back being rigid; or, further, a slide may be arranged on the inner face of the flange d to carry a wire over the ends of the tubes T to secure them.

The binder constructed with the hinged wires or tubes T may be made to hold papers, pamphlets, and sheets transferably by punc turing the articles to be bound near the back, and at points to receive the tubes T; but in order to secure the end above announced namely, the flat or nearly-flat position of the opened sheets when bound-we employ a special device, invented by one of us, and forming the subject of a separate application for patent by him. This device consists of a tag flexible in itself or flexibly joined to the article to be securedin the binderillustrated in Figs. 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, and designated, as a whole, by the letter A. For sheet-music and similar folded leaves, or for single leaves to be bound, this tag consists of a piece of linen-backed paper or similar flexible piece, A, having the body 6 gummed on one surface, the neck n and the head E forming a projecting tag, having the hole 6 to pass over the tubes T. Two of the tags are applied to each article to be bound in proper position to pass over the wires or tubes T. The two are sometimes made in a single piece, as shown in Fig. 14..

In applying the tags to folded sheets the head E is folded upon itself to the width of the neck 12, a slit is cut through the sheets in their fold, and the head is passed outwardly through such slit. The head E is then unfolded, so that its shoulders prevent its withdrawal through the slit. WVhen the central sheet (as of music) is a single leaf (and preferably when it is not) the body 0 is gummed thereto at its rear edge, as shown in Fig. 16. The tags thus hold all theleaves of the musicsheet together, and by the projecting heads E the sheets are all equally held in the binder. Passing through the fold of the sheets, the flexible piece A permits the sheets to open immediatelyin thefold,and therefore to lieflatly open, as if unbound. Being held in the binder by flexible attachments at points wholly beyond the sheets, the presence in the binder of other sheets similarly held, unless greatly crowded, does not materially prevent such broad opening at the fold.

In the case of heavy pamphlets or magazines, the leaves of which are already bound together, the wire form of the tag shown in Fig. 15 may be used. The neck and head of this form are not flexible, but the body may turn within the book, and thereby produce substantially the effect of a flexible tag.

In order to enable one having the binder to readily apply the hinge-tags, the plate G, attached to the transfer-wires B R, is provided with the cutting pointed projections 2 p, of proper width for the tags. These points are properly spaced to out both slits at once, and

for this purpose are pressed outward by the hand through the fold of the sheets.

To secure regularity and evenness of musicsheets when bound, we have also provided that the space between the binding-wires and between the points 1) shall be one-third the standard height of a music-sheet; wherefore, by using the plate G as a measure from the top or bottom of the sheet, the slits may be cut to bring the edges of the bound sheets of music even with each other.

The mode of applying the tagged sheets to the binder is so obvious as not to require explanation. The tubes T are disengaged at their outer ends and swung up into position to enter the eyes t of the head E, and after applying to them the piece to be inserted they are thrown back again and secured, as already explained.

When the transfer-wires It are used the binder \is unlocked by turning the plate Gr up, as shown in Fig. 10, and the loop P is sprung off the catch by inward pressure upon the center of the plate. Being unfastened, the tubes T are swung to a vertical position and the transfer-wires withdrawn, when the tubes are ready to receive an additional sheet. The transfer-wires are then returned to their place in the tubes,'and the binder proper is again closed and fastened, as before described.

If, as is often the case, it is desired to remove a sheet from the middle of the body of music in the binder, all above said sheet is lifted off the tubes along with the transferwires, which are thus leftin the tag-eyes. The sheet wanted is then taken off the tubes and the remainder are restored by inserting the transfer-wires again in the tubes. The lifted part of the contents are thus quickly and without trouble returned to their former place upon the tubes without derangement of their order.

Having thus described our invention, we claim 1. In combination with the hinged tubular wires T of the binder described, the transferwires It, adapted to be held by engagement with the binder-back, so as to hold the binding devices closed, substantially as described.

2. The plate Gr, hinged to the connectingwire R" of the projecting transfer-wires R R, in combination with a catch adapted to engage with the loop of the wire R to secure the binder closed, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. In combination with the binding tubes or wires T and hinge-tags A, the plate G, provided with the puncturing-points p 19, whereby said plate is adapted to properly puncture the sheets and lock the binding-wires in place.

4. The plate B, adapted to be secured to the back of the binding-case, and provided at one edge with the loops 1) b, to receive and hinge the tube T, and at the other side with a lockingcatch, 0, combined with said tube T, and the transfer-wire B, provided with a loop, P, to engage with said catch 0.

5. The tube T, hinged to the back' of the binding-case at one side thereof, combined with a transfer-wire, R, adapted to be inserted in said tube and thereafter locked to the other side of said back, substantially as set forth.

6. A temporary binder-case consisting of a rigid back and hinged lids, L L, combined with binding-tubes T, hinged to one side of said back, transfer-wires R, adapted to enter said tubes, and provided with a locking'loop, P, and locking-plate G, to cause a secure engagement with the locking catch 0, as set forth.

7. The plate B, with its opposite edges turned up in parallel flanges, provided on one side with the loops 1) and on the other with the flange d and catch 0, combined with tubes T T, secured and hinged in said loops, and the transfer-wires R R, adapted to be inserted in said tube, and provided with the loop P, per- 20 pendicnlar to the plane of said transfer-wires, and the plate G, hinged to the part R of said transfer-wires, whereby when said plate is turned up into the plane of the loop P the latter may readily be caused to spring off the catch 0, but when turned to a plane oblique to the plane of said loop such tlexure of wire R will be prevented, the whole being adapted to be secured to the rigid back of a temporary binder-case.

In testimony that We claim the foregoing as our invention we affix our signatures in presence of two Witnesses.

FREDK. W. SMITH. JAMES S. SHANNON.

Witnesses:

M. E. DAYTON, W. G. ADAMS. 

